Regulatory elements are genetic elements that regulate gene activity by modulating the transcription of an operably linked transcribable polynucleotide molecule. Such elements include promoters, leaders, introns, and 3′ untranslated regions and are useful in the field of plant molecular biology and plant genetic engineering.
Transgenic crops expressing transgenes that confer an advantage to a plant during germination in cold and wet stress conditions require regulatory elements that possess patterns of expression in tissues that are most beneficial for the expression of such transgenes. Such regulatory elements should be expressed sufficiently in the developing seed as to enable the storage of transgene products that can act quickly when the seed germinates under cold and/or wet conditions, as well as provide expression during the early stages of germination and seedling establishment. Accordingly, the present invention provides novel regulatory elements that demonstrate higher levels of expression in the developing and germinating seed and can be used to drive expression of transgenes that provide benefit under cold and/or wet germination conditions.